Bt fon/openworld.

[Carol]

Wondering if any one uses BT FON or OPENWORLD when travelling, I seem to have 240 free Min's a month not used it yet but when we start on our travels hope to give it a try anyone had any experience of using it would be glad to hear their views.

 

[1948]

Wondering if any one uses BT FON or OPENWORLD when travelling, I seem to have 240 free Min's a month not used it yet but when we start on our travels hope to give it a try anyone had any experience of using it would be glad to hear their views.

signed up a couple of years ago looked promising on the bt fon map but never got a hook up especially aboard gave up after a few months Not border with it since. From memory think I got hppked up at Gatwick/ Heathrow once or twice Not used it for long time Other means better like Starbuck/Mac etc.

 

[JockandRita]

Wondering if any one uses BT FON or OPENWORLD when travelling, I seem to have 240 free Min's a month not used it yet but when we start on our travels hope to give it a try anyone had any experience of using it would be glad to hear their views.

Hi Carol,

I too signed up to the scheme a couple of years ago, being a BT Broadband customer.

I got my first connection a few weeks ago................................from my own hub.

I haven't had any other BT/Fon connection anywhere at all. :Sad:

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[motorhomer]

Unfortunately the openworld connection only appears to work with openworld itself and not with BT's partners.

In theory BTFON should work but like the other comments I have personally yet to find one that actually does (except for the one in my own router!)

I would not rely on this when travelling!

Other means are much better.

 

[lebesset]

I am a FON member and came to the UK last summer [ for 4 months ]
I found loads of BTFON signals all over the UK , so combined with McDo and other commercial undertakings that offer free signals I had no problems using the internet virtually every day ...UK is the best country in europe for this because of the BT deal

of course I DO have an external directional wifi detector ...if you rely on your internal laptop aerial you won't get much , especially after the attenuation of the signal through the sides of a motorhome

what's the 240 mins/month about ...it certainly doesn't apply to BTFON for me

frankly I don't understand why any BT broadband subscriber doesn't sign up for this ; if I understand correctly there is no charge , and then it is free wherever you find it ...in other words , something for nothing

in france there are very few members as you have to buy the extention router to provide the signals , and one of the major IP's [ NEUF} has set up a private national system for it's subscribers , like BTFON but only for their customers

in spain there are not many FON members [ same reason as france ] but more and more municipalities are installing free public wifi in their squares , libraries etc
having said that a large area of madrid is completely covered by FON

so the real answer to your question is...do you have an external detector ? I started by getting a wifi dongle , an extension cable , then just putting it on top of the motorhome through the roof vent ; later I mounted it at the focal point of a rice strainer...a strantenna ; now I have a professional permanently mounted one on the TV mast .....supposed to give up to 5Km

btw , if you are not a BT customer a FON router is quite cheap

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[Baggins]

I have had a BT dongle with free monthly allowance with my BT broadband for over a year now - completely useless in Europe as it connects roaming but, although using up allowance or charging, does not receive data.

Worth considering though as it increases power of internal netbook wireless for use in hotspots or McD's.

In UK it works everywhere but quite slow. Best only for mail and newspaper/blog browsing.

 

[ocsid]

I am a user of BT Fon and in the UK it works well. It enables you to connect onto any BT Openzone Hotspot but not the Hotspot's of Openzones Partners. [ If your are a rich full Openzone client then you can use both theirs and partners hotspots ]

Anybody with BT Total Broadband can sign-up for free to BTfon.
If they have a BThub this splits into two separate identities; the private one and a second one with an "Openzone" identity. [ If your using some other modem then you still can "join" but your home does not become an "Openzone" hotspot.]

Now signed up you can go to any "Openzone" hotspot, hotel foyers, Starbucks and Cafe Nero and get a free link up. Plus you can pick up many of the domestic BThubs; this does need a bit of homework to find them but there are lots for the looking.

After finding and "connecting" to one of these "Openzone" hotspots [ proper or BTfon based] you log on by simply opening your browser where you will get a welcome page. Select the "BT Broadband" option and enter your full normal identity, joe.bloggs@btinternet.com and then your password, then your browser becomes active. I find its best to open a separate tab for web browsing as the original page is also needed later to sign-off properly ["Disconnect"]. Once your browser has you on line your Express or Windows mail then works just like at home. So you can preload all your outgoing mail before hand in the MH and send this when you later get on-line, even whilst browsing.

You can look a bit odd cycling round an estate with the netpad on the handlebars looking for this domestic BTfon you know is there!
Best with a cup of Starbucks now they are onboard with the system, if your self conscious.

I have never been limited in time on-line.

 

[1948]

I am a FON member and came to the UK last summer [ for 4 months ]
I found loads of BTFON signals all over the UK , so combined with McDo and other commercial undertakings that offer free signals I had no problems using the internet virtually every day ...UK is the best country in europe for this because of the BT deal

of course I DO have an external directional wifi detector ...if you rely on your internal laptop aerial you won't get much , especially after the attenuation of the signal through the sides of a motorhome

what's the 240 mins/month about ...it certainly doesn't apply to BTFON for me

frankly I don't understand why any BT broadband subscriber doesn't sign up for this ; if I understand correctly there is no charge , and then it is free wherever you find it ...in other words , something for nothing

in france there are very few members as you have to buy the extention router to provide the signals , and one of the major IP's [ NEUF} has set up a private national system for it's subscribers , like BTFON but only for their customers

in spain there are not many FON members [ same reason as france ] but more and more municipalities are installing free public wifi in their squares , libraries etc
having said that a large area of madrid is completely covered by FON

so the real answer to your question is...do you have an external detector ? I started by getting a wifi dongle , an extension cable , then just putting it on top of the motorhome through the roof vent ; later I mounted it at the focal point of a rice strainer...a strantenna ; now I have a professional permanently mounted one on the TV mast .....supposed to give up to 5Km

btw , if you are not a BT customer a FON router is quite cheap

Hello
can you elaborate a bit more on 'external WIFI detector' what is it? what it look it ? where do you buy one. All my laptops got wifi built in, how do i use it with my laptops?? I been with BT fon since it started, sure would like to have another go at it if it really works. Thanks very much

 

[barryd]

Ive just bought one of these

Link Removed

Im just trialling it at the moment and will use it in anger in France for a month in April. I stuck it on the roof of the car and pointed it at my village 3/4 of a mile away and it picked up a few connections.

Im not a member of FON or BT as I dont think they are that common in France. I remember picking up the NEUF wifi in France but have no idea how and if you can become a member

Cheers
Barry

 

[lebesset]

firstly for barry , neuf wifi is just peoples private wifi signal , there is also something like neuf hotspot ; in either case it is only available to people who use NEUF as their IP , so don't worry about it !

and for 1948 , attached is my device , it is called a securit or similar , made in sweden , designed for yacht masts or similar
my digital terrestrial aerial is a mushroom shaped thing on a pole ; I just slid it up a little , clamped [ provided ] the detector on the mast , fed the usb cable [ 5 metres ] down the mast , plugged into the usb2 [ must be 2 or 3 ] port on the laptop

and there it travels

not used this latest gadget enough to give a definitive opinion , but looking good so far ; not need the promised 5Km range as yet , but won't be holding may breath

just clicked on barry's url ...voila!

and no nasty comments on the roof of my hymer please everyone , I know it is a mess but everything is needed!

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[Camporbust]

The confines of a metal box are not ideal for WIFI, but I find improvements can be made by moving the netbook around inside the van.
The normal "View available wireless networks" display is useless for this as it's far too unresponsive, so I use a freebie called "inSSIDer" by metageeks. This gives a 1 second refreshed graphical display of what is available and the received signal level. Just set it going and wander around the van until a peak is achieved, usually near one window, depending on where the signal is coming from.
Hanging a WIFI dongle out of the roof is another good option, but you'll not beat the aerial mentioned above.

 

[Carol]

Thank you for all the replies will have a study and together with a dongle hope to get a fair covererage in the UK. (now got hubby studying the technical bits)

 

[barryd]

I should get a good chance to test the RepeatIT antenna in France in April and will report back. I suspect however that it will pick up loads of signals but hardly any of them will be unsecured. Hopefully it may pick up stuff you can subscribe to for free or pay for your time online.

If its a case of getting a password for say a bar or hotel this could be complicated as you may not know where it is if its a mile away to go and ask for one!

 

[1948]

I should get a good chance to test the RepeatIT antenna in France in April and will report back. I suspect however that it will pick up loads of signals but hardly any of them will be unsecured. Hopefully it may pick up stuff you can subscribe to for free or pay for your time online.

If its a case of getting a password for say a bar or hotel this could be complicated as you may not know where it is if its a mile away to go and ask for one!

look forward to your test report will be the decider if i will buy one.
have a save and enjoyable trip

 

[lebesset]

virtually all the fast food joints in france now have free wifi [ whiffy ] , and the most popular place for them is in supermarket car parks

with your new device you won't have to park on top of them to get a signal , but can park in the supermarket bit at a discreet distance

I just get out my wifi detector , walk around and find out which window the strongest signal comes from , and park in line of sight from that

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[barryd]

virtually all the fast food joints in france now have free wifi [ whiffy ] , and the most popular place for them is in supermarket car parks

with your new device you won't have to park on top of them to get a signal , but can park in the supermarket bit at a discreet distance

I just get out my wifi detector , walk around and find out which window the strongest signal comes from , and park in line of sight from that

Good advice thanks. If you pick up the free wifi from supermarkets and fast food places is it just a case of connecting or registering to get a password?

Regards
Barry

 

[lebesset]

nothing from supermarkets , it's just the fast food joints !

what happens is when you connect you get a front page on your browser advertising their products , you click on an agreement not to do anything illegal , and away you go

sometimes you have to input your EMail address

best get a cheap wifi detector , easier than getting out your laptop to find if there is a signal !

 

[1948]

nothing from supermarkets , it's just the fast food joints !

what happens is when you connect you get a front page on your browser advertising their products , you click on an agreement not to do anything illegal , and away you go

sometimes you have to input your EMail address

best get a cheap wifi detector , easier than getting out your laptop to find if there is a signal !

wifi detector what it looks like?? where to get one??

 

[lebesset]

anywhere , all sorts of specs ...have a look on flea bay
anything from £5 to £50
for a fiver you will get one that just says ..yes there is a signal and this is the strength
for £50 it will have a screen , display the name , signal strength , encryption system or open etc
personally I have a skype phone which does all of the latter as well